The Ascendants

The Ascendants are semi-sentient machines piloted by special Terrans known as Prophets. Ascendants are capable of tasks too complex or rapid for a computer or a Terran to complete on their own, and rival or even exceed the cognitive capabilities of the Morpheans. An Ascendant is created by the fusion of a machine and a biological entity, and many have biological components in addition to just the Prophet in the pilot’s cradle.

Ascendants are the most powerful machines ever created without Morphean aid. The first were vast starships that began to venture out from the Hitomi Sphere along the Waypoint network. Soon thereafter the technology was adapted for more military and civil applications. Many colonies built Ascendants as central control units, managing all security and infrastructure simultaneously with great discretion. Planets built fleets of Ascendant warships, unable to make Waypoint jumps but capable of great destruction within a given system.

And there were the rigs: large humanoid Ascendants capable of great strength and extremely tough. Initially used for mining and construction, these were quickly adapted and new rigs were built for military uses. It is these units that are now at the forefront of the defense against the invading Deva.

ARCs – Architect Cores, the pseudo-A.I.’s that operate the most powerful machines in the sector—the Ascendants.

Tylrico – mars-like, dotted with domed cities connected by high speed monorails that cut through the wastes in between (Seed = 1209641031)

Rosetta – Garden world with 19th-century fashion and culture, ruled by noble houses. Many on Rosetta disapprove of the Ascendants, and those who are touched by the Word are taught how to use it to sabotage Ascendants and “save” their prophets. Rosetta has extremely advanced space travel technology, and they have a presence throughout their solar system. (Seed = 517716176)